Chapter Seven
Thursday afternoon, she heard Jade’s bike, but as soon as he showed up, he pulled up next to her and turned off the engine. Which was different. Usually, she just got on, and he’d take off, so she was curious about what he had to say.
“I think today is a good day to not work,” he declared.
Her eyes widened. “You mean, play hooky?”
He chucked and winked. “Get on the back, hot stuff. We’re going on an adventure.”
A thrill shot through her. Suddenly, she felt alive. It was the same feeling she’d had when she stepped foot on that bus. Her instincts had told her to come to Wyoming, and now her instincts were telling her that this man would be someone very important to her.
Maybe he already was.
She put her helmet on and wrapped her arms around him when she settled behind him.
He started the bike, and off they went. Although the shaded visor kept the wind off her face, the breeze wrapped coolly around her body.
Traveling under the shade of trees, she looked up as sunlight found patches through the leaves and shone down.
It was a beautiful day, and she took a moment to appreciate her surroundings.
Jade handled his big bike with ease, and she felt comfortable with him, which still confused her.
What made him different? Why did she feel at ease with him?
Questions she may never get to answer. Or want to answer.
They rode for about an hour, and then he slowed down and turned off the freeway, where they traveled for about thirty minutes, when he slowed down again.
This time they traveled on a gravel road until he came to a clearing and stopped.
He turned off the engine and pushed the kickstand out.
Then he tapped her leg to indicate for her to dismount.
She took off her helmet and spun in a very slow circle as she glanced around. “You didn’t bring me out here to kill me, did you?”
She was only half serious.
He grinned. “Nope.”
Taking her helmet, he placed both of them on the seat and held out his hand. She took it without hesitation. The path they walked wasn’t long, and before she knew it, the trees thinned, and they stepped out onto a ridge that overlooked a valley.
“Oh my God,” she breathed, wide-eyed.
“I used to come here, set up an easel and paint the view,” he said.
“You grew up here?”
“Yeah, next town over,” he replied. “I used to paint murals all over the place, even when I wasn’t paid for them.”
“Are you a good artist?”
“Yep, even went to CalArts in California.”
“What made you come back to Wyoming and join a motorcycle club?”
“My sister was killed,” he said quietly, turning to stare over the valley.
The fixed stare let her know his mind was replaying a memory.
“Murdered. Cops did nothing because she was a sex worker. I decided to put the fucker down myself, but Nero beat me to it. Turns out, Nero was in love with her, but she always turned him down. Felt like she wasn’t worthy of him.
He was a member of the Sons of Sin, so I cast my lot in with them.
Had nothing else. When Saint found out I was an artist, he asked if I did tattoos.
Wanted to set up some legit businesses, so I started practicing on pigs because their skin is similar to ours.
Funniest damn thing you ever saw, pigs with colorful tattoos running through the mud. ”
He laughed at the memory, then slowly he morphed back into Somber Jade.
“The john who killed my sister didn’t want to pay, so he beat her to death.
I wanted to pay him back with every bruise that covered her body, but I had to settle with watching him OD.
Didn’t give me the satisfaction I craved.
” He looked at her, staring her in the eyes.
“I’m a dangerous man when I need to be, Shiloh.
I’ve done things that would make you run far away from me, but I’ve never hit a woman who was weaker than me, and I never will. ”
What was he implying?
She knew what he meant. That she was safe with him. That he would never treat the woman in his life the way the man in the bar, the one she followed to the alley, treated his. The air between them changed. Shifted into something more. Something she wasn’t willing to define at that moment.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he murmured. “From the moment I saw you in that bar, I knew it was kismet because I hate the Tipsy Bison. I wasn’t even supposed to be there, but I lost a bet.”
“I also didn’t want to be there,” she told him. “I’d just arrived in town that day, but my friend Vette wanted to go out and celebrate. I don’t like crowds like that much, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. She opened her home to me when I needed her most.”
“Well, I’m glad she wanted to celebrate, and I’m glad I lost that bet. Otherwise, I might not have found you.”
“Did you want to find me?” she asked. Meaning, did he want to be a one-woman man?
“I did,” he murmured. He ran his knuckles lightly down her cheek.
“If you spend more than a minute around Saint, Sinn, and Queen, you’ll see how devoted they are to one another.
How happy they are. I guess you can call me a romantic, because I wanted that connection.
The Sons are my brothers. My family, but happiness?
Devotion? Yeah, I want a partner in life. ”
“Do you, maybe, mean me?”
“Yes, Shiloh.”
She dipped her head, suddenly a little shy. “There are things that you might, um, not like about me.”
“Ditto. But I’d like the chance to figure that out. Same?”
Did she want the chance? What if he found out where she came from and didn’t want to be with her anymore? What if he thought she was disgusting? Dirty?
What if she couldn’t ... perform?
A man like Jade would expect sex. Probably lots of sex.
She used to love sex.
Now, it sent a shiver down her back.
“Jade,” she said quietly, looking at her feet. “There was an incident where I was...um, I was attacked.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Inside, I’m not as pretty as you think I am,” she whispered brokenly.
He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up. “Please look at me.”
She did as he requested, and he wiped away a lone tear. She didn’t even know she’d been crying.
“Shiloh—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she rushed to say, cutting him off. “I’ve dealt with it. It’s all in the past, and I only told you about it because I thought it might be relevant to this discussion.”
He studied her. “If you give me a name, I’ll kill him.”
The cold-blooded words should have scared the crap out of her.
To talk so casually about murder. This was the dangerous man he warned her about.
Instead, however, she understood the emotion behind them.
He was ready to eliminate the person who had hurt her.
To destroy and kill. For her. Men in the past always took and took.
They stripped everything from her: her dignity, her sense of self, even the dream of a future.
So, yes, his words should’ve frightened her, but instead, they wrapped around her like an addictive hug.
“One day,” she whispered.
Slowly, he nodded. A promise.
“You know, there are a lot more women out there without hang-ups like mine.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want an empty shell,” he said.
“I want you because you’re not interchangeable with anyone.
Full disclosure, though. I’ve gone through my share of club pussy, and the one thing I’ve come to know is that meaningless sex is, well, meaningless.
I like you, Shiloh. I like you as a person, and I’m okay waiting for you to like me back.
We’ll take this at your pace. If you want to, that is. ”
He wouldn’t force her.
He understood.
If she said no right then, he would take her back, and they’d be only co-workers. Except, she didn’t want to be only co-workers.
“I don’t know how this progresses,” she admitted. “But I want to try. With you, Jade. Only with you.”
He smiled, his green eyes shining with warmth, and held out his hand. “May I hug you?”
She nodded.
“May I kiss you?”
After the briefest hesitation, she nodded.
He slid a hand around her neck, slowly bringing her body up against his.
Careful not to move too quickly. He maintained eye contact as he lowered his face to hers, giving her every chance to say no or pull back.
Her heart thundered in her chest, but there wasn’t fear or hesitation on her part.
When his lips finally met hers, it was nirvana.
It made all the previous kisses she’d ever had pale in comparison.
Perhaps it was too soon, but this had been the kiss she dreamed about when she was a young girl dreaming of happy ever after.
What the fairy tales and romance books all wrote about.
The type of kiss that laid siege to her past and rendered it powerless.
When he finally lifted his head, all she wanted to do was pull him back for more.
“Wow,” he murmured, bopping her nose with his before leaning his forehead against hers. “You’re one helluva kisser.”
“I was going to say the same about you,” she said, a bit breathlessly.
He pulled back and smiled down at her. “Wanna come to the barbecue tomorrow?”
“Don’t we have to work?”
“The good thing about being the boss,” he mused, “is that I can change the work schedule.”